Imperfection (episode)
Seven's life is put in danger when a crucial Borg implant malfunctions. Summary :"Captain's log, stardate 54129.4. It's a bittersweet day for the crew of . We've finally found a home for some of our most precious cargo." Voyager says good-bye to Mezoti, Azan, and Rebi. After leaving the transporter room Seven tells Icheb to shut down the Borg alcoves for the three. Icheb doesn't want to since he believes it is too soon. Icheb also notes that Seven is crying. Seven sees The Doctor about her crying. He says it is merely natural given what's happened but she claims she was in perfect emotional control. The Doctor does note that there does seem to be something wrong with her. Seven insists she is fine. Seven meets Icheb in astrometrics where he says that he wants to take the Starfleet Entrance Exam. Seven leaves but is unable to regenerate. According to the computer her cortical node is malfunctioning. Neelix sees her in the mess hall and attempts to help but Seven refuses. Suddenly she faints and goes into convulsions. In sick bay, The Doctor wakes up Seven and Janeway tells her what happened. Her body is rejecting her Borg implants and the implants are shutting down one by one, including ones that maintain vital functions. Seven insists that her Borg parts would adapt but The Doctor and Janeway aren't so sure. Janeway looks for a Borg Cube debris field to find a replacement for Seven's cortical node. On her way to the Delta Flyer Icheb talks to Janeway regarding his request. She tells him what's happened and Icheb offers to come along, though Janeway refuses. Icheb goes to sick bay to talk to Seven where she grows angry. The Doctor tells Icheb that her anger is natural given her situation. Janeway, Tuvok, and Tom arrive at the Borg debris field and find that a part of the cube still has atmosphere. Janeway and Tuvok board the vessel in search of an intact cortical node. They find a dead drone and remove the node. Tom hails them and says that they have company. Three unidentified humaniods arrive and declare that the debris field belongs to them. The two groups get into a scuffle and Tom finally beams Janeway and Tuvok away. In sick bay Neelix arrives with flowers for Seven and wishes to keep her company. The Doctor then tricks her into playing a game of kadis-kot with Neelix by claiming that she wouldn't stand a chance against him in her weakened state. Janeway arrives with the cortical node and The Doctor attempts to replace it. Seven's body is rejecting the new node and dies, however it was only a simulation. After twelve attempts she dies in every simulation. The node has been inactive too long. Janeway then states that they must find a living drone and use it's node. While Seven is awaiting news on the simulation she beats Neelix at kadis-kot. The Doctor comes to tell her the bad news. Seven wants to return to duty but neither The Doctor nor Janeway will let her. Icheb arrives with her work so she can work in sick bay but Seven is gone after having deactivated The Doctor and left her combadge there. B'Elanna finds Seven in engineering and the two begin talking about death. Seven tells her that when a drone dies their memory lives on, as long as the collective exists every drone will live on. The Doctor finds the two and attempts to get Seven back to sick bay or else her condition will deteriorate faster, but lets her stay as long as she wears a cortical monitor. Seven finds Icheb in astrometrics and tells him that Janeway approved his request and provides a list of those who can help him study. But Icheb wants Seven to help him with astrometrics. He seems angry because Seven has apparently given up because of her condition. Icheb talks to The Doctor and tells him he knows what can help, use his node to replace Seven's. He claims that since he's younger his body should be able to adapt to the loss. In astrometrics Seven is reviewing places on Earth, such as the Grand Canyon and Janeway's birthplace. Seven doesn't believe she'll ever make it back to Earth. Janeway tells her that had she thought that way she would have settled on the first M Class planet and stayed there. Seven tells her that her death would be more significant than other crew member deaths. The Doctor tells Seven and Janeway Icheb's plan. Seven refuses saying that any danger to Icheb is too great. Icheb asks Janeway to order Seven to go through with it but Janeway won't override Seven's wishes. Icheb calls The Doctor and Janeway to his alcove where he has programmed it to remove is cortical node to prove it could work. Janeway, Icheb, and The Doctor are immediately transported to sick bay. Neither Seven nor Icheb wants the node so that it can save the other. Some of Icheb's implants are adapting but not all. Seven claims that he is acting this way because he relies too much on her, but Icheb claims that she doesn't rely enough on others hence why she's been acting this way. Seven agrees to undergo the operation. The operation is a success and after six days Seven wakes up in her alcove. Although Icheb is still recovering he will be fine. Icheb wakes and Seven tells him that she expects him to recover since she intends to help him with the astrometrics portion of the Entrance Exam. Icheb then believes that her ocular implant is again malfunctioning since she is crying, but The Doctor says that the implant is working perfectly. Memorable Quotes "I have isolated a section that contains the bodies of approximately thirty seven drones." "Thirty seven doesn't sound approximate to me." : - Tuvok and Tom Paris "Icheb to the Doctor, report to cargo bay 2 immediately!" "He’s persistent." "Not to worry. I'll make it clear to him that persistence is futile." : - Icheb, Seven, and The Doctor "I need you at tactical! When I bring us around, target their engine core." "Aye, sir!" : - Tom Paris and Captain Janeway "Your ocular implant; it's malfunctioning again." "Actually it's functioning perfectly." : - Icheb and The Doctor on Seven with a tear in her eye. "We difficult patients need to stick together." : - B'Elanna, after Seven escaped the doctor "I want to help Seven as much as anyone, but if we're not careful, we'll all end up with cortical nodes." : - Chakotay, pointing out the danger of Captain's decision. "I won't accept the node!" "And I won't keep it!" "Somebody had better use the damn thing... If it stays disconnected much longer it won't do either of you any good!" : - Seven, Icheb, and The Doctor Background Information *This episode featured an okudagram computer display of a casualty listing of all the crewpersons lost to Voyager by this point. Several names were in-jokes referring to characters from the television series . See Starfleet casualties for more information. *This episode was originally supposed to air after , and a few errors exist due to the switch. First of all, the new Delta Flyer II is present, whereas it was properly introduced in "Drive", but most importantly, during the operation on Seven of Nine, Tom Paris is clearly seen wearing a wedding ring. *This is the last appearance of the Borg until . They were deliberately not used throughout the seventh season due to their abundance of appearances during the previous three seasons. * At one point Janeway suggests that they infiltrate a Borg ship and kill a drone for its cortical node. This seems to be a contradiction to where she says that she can't kill one being to save another. Although this could be explained by the fact that the Drone would not have to be necessarily killed, as the Collective could just replace the node the Voyager away team would have taken. * This episode marks the final apperances of Marley S. McClean as Mezoti, Kurt Wetherill as Azan and Cody Wetherill as Rebi on the series. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 7.1, . *As part of the VOY Season 7 DVD collection. Links and References Guest Stars * Manu Intiraymi as Icheb * Marley S. McClean as Mezoti Co-Stars * Michael McFall as a Salvage Alien #1 * Debbie Grattan as a Wysanti * Kurt Wetherill as Azan * Cody Wetherill as Rebi * Majel Barrett as Computer Voice Uncredited Co-Stars * Elle Alexander as Salvage Alien #2 * Stan G. Clayton as Salvage Alien #3 Stunts * Wayne King, Jr. as stunt double for Michael McFall References 2377; Azan; Ballard, Lyndsay; Bartlett, J.; Bloomington; Borg alcove; Borg Collective; Craig, Claudia; cortical node; Delta Flyer II; Icheb; Indiana; kadis-kot; Kaplan, Marie; Lang, Timothy; Lyman, J.; McGarry, L.; Mezoti; ocular implant; Puccini, Giacomo; Rebi; Seaborn, S.; Sector 949; Starfleet Academy; Tarcanian wildflower; Tosca; Wysanti; Wysanti (planet); Yontasa Expanse; Young, Charles; Ziegler, T. |next= }} Category:VOY episodes de:Unvollkommenheit fr:Imperfection nl:Imperfection